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Council workers help dig out drivers and grit the surface by hand on the Royston Road Glasgow. (Image: (Image: Tony Nicoletti))

George Gillespie, the council’s executive director of neighbourhoods and sustainability said: “The gritting of the road network will be carried out mainly by night shift operatives based at land and environmental services’ Gartcraig depot.

“Road network gritting will also be undertaken during normal hours as and when required.

“The gritting of the footway and cycle way network will be carried out by operatives during the day shift but with the ability to start at 5.30am when required.

“This winter, 18 permanent nightshift drivers will be on duty on any given night and when necessary, this number can be increased.

“Their primary duty is driving large carriageway gritting vehicles as required by the weather conditions.

“When carriageway gritting is not required, the drivers can be used for cleansing, lighting, emergency response and any other duties directed by management.”

As well as the roads gritting that will take place throughout the coming months, the council has also drawn-up a list of priority footways and cycle lanes to be gritted this winter.

The likes of Buchanan Street and Sauchiehall Street’s pavements are expected to be included in a list of high pedestrian traffic areas that will be gritted as a top priority. Shopping centres outwith the city centre and school access routes will also be first on the list for pavement gritting.

Gritting teams will target cycle paths between the south west of the city through to Kelvingrove Park.

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Mr Gillespie added: “The pre-salting of priority one carriageways, footways and cycle ways will be instructed should the domain-based weather forecast predict that ice or snow is likely to be present on road surfaces.

“During such sustained periods of freezing conditions, all available operational resources, such as roads, parks and cleansing, will be deployed to salting an/or snow clearing operations.

“Arrangements are in place to call upon sub-contractors as and when conditions dictate.”

Last month it was revealed that 688 pothole related claims were made against the council between April 2017 and April 2018 – 239 more than in 2016/17.

Much of that was blamed on the harsh conditions throughout January and February this year.

Council chiefs are still counting the cost of the ‘Beast from the East’, with £11.6m being pumped in to repair 80km of roads and footways by April next year.